ST. CLOUD, MINN. -
The Providence College (5-7-8, 4-3-4-2 WHEA) women's hockey team traveled to St. Cloud, Minn. to compete in the Easton Holiday Showcase. PC faced tournament host St. Cloud State (8-10-3, 5-9-3 WCHA) at the National Hockey Center and came away with a 4-4 tie. The Friars fell in the eventual shootout, 1-0. Alyse Ruff (Tualatin, Ore.), Abby Gauthier (Lynn, Mass.) and Jennifer Friedman (San Gabriel, Calif.) had a goal and an assist each while Genevieve Lacasse (Scarborough, Ontario) made 35 saves on the night.

Providence had four different players score but gave up the game-tying goal with only 27 ticks left on the clock. St. Cloud's Felicia Nelson put home all four goals for the Huskies. SCSU's Caitlin Hogan put home the only goal of the shootout in the fourth round.

Providence fell behind at 4:14 when Nelson wristed a shot into the top right corner.

The Friars quickly took the lead with two power-play goals in a 2:25 span. Amber Yung (Rockville, Va.) scored the equalizer at 6:03 when she put home a loose puck during a scramble in front of the SCSU cage following a shot by Cottrell. The goal was Yung's second of the season while Cottrell earned her 12th assist on the play. Gauthier also assisted on the play. Friedman (San Gabriel, Calif.) gave PC the lead at 8:28 with a rocket into the top right corner from the right point for her first goal of the season. Jessica Cohen (Anchorage, Alaska) and Ruff registered their seventh and fifth assists on the play, respectively.

SCSU nearly evened the score but Nelson rang a shot off the cross bar at 11:47 and Lacasse saved a Holly Roberts breakaway at 18:50. Providence outshot the Huskies, 12-9, and finished the period with a 2-1 lead.

St. Cloud pressured the Friars early in the second with Nelson hitting the cross bar again and the Huskies outshooting PC, 9-0, in the first 7:00. Nelson would find the equalizer with St. Cloud's ninth shot of the period when she beat Lacasse at 6:31.

Providence again responded quickly to make the score 3-2 when Gauthier put a shot through SCSU goaltender Ashley Nixon's pads at 7:17. The goal was Gauthier's third of the season. Cottrell and Friedman assisted on the play.

It looked as though the Friars added another at 9:09 when Yung put home another loose puck during a scramble in front of Nixon but the goal was reviewed and disallowed for goaltender interference. The back and forth scoring continued when Nelson finished the hat trick with a shot into the left side of the cage at 14:13 to even the score at 3-3.

St. Cloud outshot the Friars, 16-13, in the period to even the shots at 25 for the game.

Providence outshot the Huskies, 7-0, to start the period and took a 4-3 lead with a power-play goal from Ruff at 5:38. The goal was Ruff's third power-play strike of the season and fifth overall.

Lacasse kept the score at 4-3 with a spectacular diving stick-save on the goal line at 11:02 to rob the Huskies but Nelson would put home the game-tying goal, her fourth of the night, with a back-handed shot over the left shoulder of Lacasse with only 27 seconds remaining and the SCSU goalie on the bench for the extra attacker.

PC's Jean O'Neill (Strafford, Pa.) and Friedman each had chances to put home the game winner but Nixon made the saves as the game ended, 4-4. St. Cloud State finished the game with a 39-37 edge in shots.

The Friars will finish the weekend with a 1:07 p.m. contest against Minnesota State. The Mavericks fell in the opening game, 8-2, to No. 1 Mercyhurst.